Dancing with the Dragon (2002) (32 page)

One helicopter crew was killed in the crash while the other Super Cobra crew survived the crash landing of their ship. The Harrier pilot ejected low to the ground and his parachute popped open just in time for him to make one swing before he hit the ground hard.

Despite a broken ankle, the aviator immediately came up on his radio and guided a Marine UH-1N Huey to his position. Covered by two Marine Hornets, the helicopter successfully retrieved the F/A-18 pilot, and then plucked the injured crew of the Super Cobra from the midst of the advancing Chinese soldiers. Low on fuel, one of the Hornets had to strafe within sixty feet of the Huey to keep the PLA troops from reaching the downed aviators.

When a third Super Cobra was blown out of the sky, the call went out to the menacing AC-130U Spectre gunships. Four minutes later Hell Raiser and two Marine F/A-18 Hornets jumped into the fray. The firepower erupting from the big gunship was a frightening sight, a show of force not for the faint of heart.

The PLA forces grudgingly held their ground until Terminator II and a flight of four navy F/A-18s joined in the fierce fighting. The no-holds-barred 105mm howitzers in the Spectre gunships overpowered the Chinese and forced their staggered lines of defense to break and begin falling back. The Marines were quickly enveloping the Chinese on the left flank and opened a huge hole in the PLA on the right side of the canal.

Moving very rapidly, the Marines broke through the decimated Chinese ranks at three critical points. The PLA troops were being decisively defeated by the fast-moving Marines and the devastating and unrelenting close air support.

At the same time air force and navy fighter planes were hunting, and then destroying antiaircraft artillery positions and surface-to-air missile sites. Many of the emplacements were quickly abandoned when the Spectre gunships and the Warthogs opened fire on nearby sites. Other Chinese soldiers continued a steady stream of triple-A fire and missile launches until their sites were turned into smoking holes the size of swimming pools.

USS Samuel B. Roberts

Feeling anxious, Comdr. LeRoy Gartly and his crew watched with great apprehension as Chinese soldiers cautiously approached his 445-foot ship from both sides of the canal. Lightly armed with rifles and pistols, the U. S. sailors were preparing to repel boarders when four navy F-14 Tomcats and six navy F/A-18 Hornets rolled in on the encroaching PLA forces. The "Bombcats" and two of the Hornets worked over the Chinese foot soldiers while the other F/A-18s went after triple-A emplacements and SAM sites.

A shoulder-fired surface-to-air missile crippled one of the Hornets and forced the pilot to set a direct course for George Washington. Before the damaged F/A-18 was out of sight, an F-14 was downed by intense antiaircraft fire. The crew safely ejected and two orbiting Hornets were vectored to their position to provide air cover until a rescue helicopter could get to them.

An HH-60H Seahawk from George Washington arrived minutes later. The Tomcat pilot and his radar intercept officer raced to the helo and dived through the door a second before the Seahawk lifted off. The helicopter sustained engine damage from a hail of ground fire, but it managed to return safely to GW.

When Terminator II could be spared, the Spectre gunship flew over the trapped frigate and ripped the Chinese positions wide open with a devastating attack. Soldiers and triple-A gunners broke ranks and raced in every direction for the nearest cover.

Two CH-46 Sea Knights landed, one on each side of the canal, and disgorged their load of Marines. By 8:35 A. M. the beach was secure, USS Samuel B. Roberts was secure, and the faulty lock was secure.

The Huey helicopter with the former canal-lock operators arrived a few minutes later, and the "problem" at the abandoned lock was found without delay. There was no problem with the lock. The Red Chinese had deliberately detained the U. S. frigate and her crew.

By noon, the Samuel B. Roberts was safely in the waters of the Colombian Basin and her crew was enjoying a steel beach picnic with their very relieved commanding officer.

Chapter
22.

Honolulu, Hawaii

Jackie opened her eyes and looked at the alarm clock on the night-stand. She crawled out of bed and gently pulled the curtain open to gaze at Waikiki Beach. The blue sky, clear emerald water, and soft trade winds promised another beautiful day in paradise. Jackie called room service to order coffee and orange juice, and then she turned on the television and selected a cable news station.

Feeling a bit groggy, Scott slowly sat up in bed and turned to look at the clock. "Eight-thirty?" he asked himself, and looked at Jackie. "What happened?"

She quietly chuckled. "We went to a luau at the Royal Hawaiian, made absolute fools of ourselves--at least you did--trying to do the hula, went out dancing until one-thirty, had way too many mai tais, and then walked barefoot on the beach for another hour." She tilted her head and smiled serenely. "That's what happened."

He started to respond and then caught the "Breaking News" logo on the television screen. "Turn up the volume."

The anchor looked up and faced the camera. "This just coming in to CNN--we have breaking news on several fronts--please bear with us. According to a senior White House spokesman, President Macklin is meeting at this hour with key members of his cabinet and high-level national security officials.

"Sources close to the president have told CNN that the purpose of the meeting is to consider the overall U. S. strategy in dealing with the ongoing confrontations with the Red Chinese military and their communist leaders in Beijing. We hope to have news from the White House in a few minutes."

The anchor shuffled his sheets of paper. "To recap the shocking events of the past few hours, we turn to Barry Pulaski at the Pentagon."

"Randall, we're receiving further reports of casualties from this morning's battle at the Panama Canal."

"Battle?" Scott sat straight up in bed. "What battle?"

"I don't know." Jackie was transfixed on the television screen. "The Panama Canal issue obviously erupted in the last few hours."

Pulaski continued at a rapid pace. "There have been several conflicting accounts on the number of Americans injured, but the latest information we have indicates that at least two hundred Marines have been wounded. The current list of casualties stands at thirty-seven."

Interspersed with live coverage from Panama and scenes videotaped during the intense battle, the reporter recapped the sequence of events during the bloody clash and then tossed it back to the anchor.

For ten minutes, Scott and Jackie quietly absorbed the details of the deadly skirmish with the Chinese.

"We have just been informed that President Macklin will address the country in approximately one hour. Please stay with us for continuing coverage of the crisis with China."

A financial planning commercial flashed on the screen. "I'm afraid this is only the beginning," Scott said.

The room service waiter knocked on the door.

"Newton's third law of motion," Jackie said, and then walked to the door. "For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction."

"Yeah, it's going to be a hot time in Beijing tonight."

The White House

President Cord Macklin, surrounded by his closest advisers on military matters and foreign policy, listened intently as each person expressed an opinion or suggested options for dealing with the brutal communist regime in Beijing.

The cabinet room was quiet when Macklin finally called a halt to the discussions. Everyone sensed the president was about to take bold initiatives, but no one could have anticipated what the commander in chief was about to say.

Immaculate in a dark gray suit, white shirt, and red tie, Macklin spoke in a steady, even voice. "I would have to agree with most of the views expressed here this afternoon. However, in my judgment, China has committed another act of war and we have responded accordingly."

Although his neck was red from the anger he felt, the president suppressed his emotions. "China has steadily become a more threatening adversary over the last decade, and their military will be a formidable world power in another ten to twelve years, perhaps sooner with the nuclear and laser-weapon technology they have acquired. Knowing their current capability and projecting what their future military capabilities will be, I have decided to deal with them now."

All eyes were riveted on the president.

"After the accidental bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade, our already fragile relationship with Beijing started over in a deep freeze. Then we had the spy-plane incident that jacked the rhetoric back up. We have tried gradualism, a world of patience, quiet diplomacy--everything in the book--with virtually no success. Even the vaunted trade agreement hasn't thawed our relationship with Beijing."

He paused and then spoke more slowly. "Their denial of human rights and religious freedom isn't going to get any better. We need to be mindful of the literature of the Red Chinese military and the Chinese Communist Party. To this very day, they still refer to the United States of America as 'the main enemy.'"

The expression on Macklin's face was grim. "We know the dictators in Beijing are nothing more than thugs dressed in business suits. It's a foregone conclusion. The communist tyrants aren't going to voluntarily change from a system of brutal, repressive government to a democratic form of government. It just isn't going to happen--they're not going to give away their power."

Macklin looked at each of his advisers. "We no longer have the luxury of time on our side. As each day passes, the Red Chinese are adding to their nuclear capabilities. We have to deal with that fact and stop trying to coddle the bastards in Beijing. The only things they respond to are bluntness and brute force."

He paused a moment to collect his thoughts. "Let's not forget the explosive matter of Taiwan. A Chinese invasion of Taiwan would make Kosovo and the Middle East look like a tea party. The 1979 Taiwan Relations Act commits us to defend Taiwan against an attack from the mainland. I fully intend to honor that commitment and I want Beijing to think long and hard about our obligation--and the absolute power of our armed forces."

Macklin looked at his briefing notes. "Having voiced my opinion on Chinese leadership, the real crux of this matter is Beijing's overt attack on our military aircraft with laser weapons, SAMs, and antiaircraft fire. The weapons experts have no doubt about what happened to the RC-7 reconnaissance plane."

The president reached for his reading glasses. "It was ditched in shallow water and has been raised. According to the experts, the plane was definitely hit by a surface-to-air missile--probably a Soviet-built shoulder-fired weapon."

"You have to wonder what the hell the Chinese were thinking," Pete Adair said lightly.

"You know what they were thinking," the president said, slamming his fist on the table. "It couldn't be more crystal clear!" Silence prevailed while Macklin schooled himself.

"Since Beijing regained control of Hong Kong, almost every aspect of that world-class city has deteriorated or become corrupted. They gained control of the Panama Canal and look what happened. Hell, they're sitting in our backyard, literally nine hundred miles from the U. S. border, with control over a vital choke point between the Atlantic and the Pacific.

"Let me rephrase that statement. The Chinese will not have control over the canal anymore. We have taken control of the canal, and the matter isn't open for discussion. We'll work with the Panamanian government to reach an agreement that works for both our countries. I will give President Liu Fan-ding one month to get the remainder of his communist storm troops out of Panama."

The other men and women in the cabinet room looked at each other with wide-eyed expressions.

"For the reasons I have previously mentioned, I'm going to take a vigorous approach with China and stop tiptoeing around the elephant in the living room. I'm going to send Beijing a very straightforward message. If we are provoked, the United States of America will strike back swiftly and with devastating results."

Macklin noted with great pleasure that Hartwell Prost had discreetly nodded his head.

"Simply put, ladies and gentlemen, I have chosen this time in our history, and this set of circumstances, to take a hard stand against the Red Chinese. If anyone in this room has a problem with my position on China, speak now and don't hold anything back."

Silence filled the room.

The president turned to Brett Shannon, his Yale-educated, bespectacled secretary of state. "Brett, I know you just returned from Beijing, but I want our remaining State Department people out of there as quickly as possible."

"Yes, sir."

"And I want all U. S. citizens living in China to be notified immediately that it would be in their best interest to leave China as soon as possible."

"I will make the arrangements directly after we adjourn." Dressed as usual in a suit that was a size too large for him, Shannon looked bone tired and somewhat irritable. "I need to brief our friends and alliance partners in that region to make sure we're on the same page."

"Another thing," Hartwell Prost said. "We need bipartisan support from Congress and the American people. Mr. President, you will have to make the case to the citizens of our country. If the people are with you, Congress will follow."